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Small Changes Equal Big Results

So many people take their eyes off of the bigger picture when it comes to health and fitness. They are only concerned with how they look. There’s so much more to it than that. One must ask themselves, how do I feel?

Your body begins to change from the inside out as you start making healthy choices. Some people don’t know where to start or think that they are in over their head when they start a new healthy lifestyle. Below are some ways that you can start making changes:

1.) Drink more water. Some people hate plain water. Add fruit to it (it doesn’t matter if it is berries, apples, lemon, or oranges). Add a little Crystal Light to it or drink unsweetened tea. 


2.) Walk more. Park farther away from the store when you go shopping so you have farther to walk. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Try to set aside an hour a day for physical activity. It doesn’t matter if it is at a gym or at home. 


3.) Sleep more. It’s important to get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. If you’re getting fewer than that, go to bed 30 minutes earlier. It might not seem like a lot but once you get used to that, go to bed 30 minutes earlier again. There you have an extra hour of sleep. If you get a day that you can spend at home, then take a nap.

 
4.) Eat better. Make better changes as you go. You don’t have to start off with steamed broccoli and plain tilapia. Start small. Remove cheese from your salads. Grill your meat instead of frying it. Choose whole grain over enriched products. Pick fresh produce over canned. 

It is my hope that these little tips will set you on a course for the best changes you can make for your health and well-being. You’ll see changes over time, but you’ll feel better much sooner!

 

Liquid Vitamin Benefits

With the exception of the whey protein powder, you will notice that the entire line of 1st Step Pro Wellness products are liquid. Technically they are all liquid once you add water to the protein powder, but I digress. The 1st Step Pro Wellness line includes:

*Liquid D3
*Liquid multivitamin
*Liquid B12
*Liquid glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM
*Liquid melatonin

The 1st Step Pro Wellness homepage reads:  “Feel the liquid difference". They have also posted the following:

“Feel the difference. Within minutes, our liquid vitamins enter the bloodstream and begin fueling your mind and body for superior mental and physical energy and health. No stomachache. No stimulants. Simply vitamins sweetened with fruit juice so they taste as powerful as you'll feel.”

Why, you may ask, are there no capsules? No pills? No tablets? There are actually a few reasons, but I’ll give you three.

1.) Liquid vitamins tend to absorb better and faster than pill or powder form, thus hitting the blood stream more quickly.
2.) They taste better than a nasty ole pill!
3.) They are easier to swallow than pills and tablets.

So the next time you think about taking a big “horse pill” as a multivitamin, maybe you should rethink that decision and give the 1st Step liquid multivitamin a try!



Wasting Time at the Gym

I see it all the time, in every gym I have been to, and honestly, have been guilty of it a time or two myself. At some point in time, I think every gym-goer has wasted time during their workout. Here are a few ways that you waste time, and ways that you can avoid it.

1.)  Talking, and talking, and talking.  Every once in a while it is okay to engage in a small amount of chit-chat in the gym, but don’t make it a habit and don’t let the conversation last longer than two minutes. You have work to do and you don’t need to let a discussion about something that happened to your buddy last week, issues going on at work, or last night’s ball game keep you from completing your workout.

2.) Taking extra long rest breaks. Although your rest time between sets varies depending on what you are doing (heavy weight/low rep sets must have longer rest periods than higher rep/light weight), you need to rest appropriately between sets. If you rest too long between sets then you lose the intensity you need to stimulate muscle growth, thereby resulting in stagnation and a plateau. To avoid taking extra long rest breaks, wear a watch or keep a stopwatch nearby and time yourself. 

3.) Waiting on machines, equipment, etc. So you want to squat but the squat racks are being used so you wait, and wait, and wait until it becomes available. Wrong move. If what you want to use is currently occupied then move on to the next exercise and come back to it.  Your workout will not be ruined just because you did leg press before squats.

4.) Doing the same exercises over and over again. Have you been doing the same workout plan, same weights, same reps and sets for weeks and still haven’t seen results? Do you feel like a hamster on a wheel when you go to the gym? The problem could lie within your training plan. You need to change it up every now and again. Shock your muscles with heavier weights, new exercises, or new types of training (i.e. supersets, negatives, 21s, etc.).

5.) Posting, emailing, texting from your phone.  Besides talking, I think this is the biggest distracter.  You’re doing shoulders or arms and get a massive pump and feel you just have to show this off.  You pull out your phone, take a picture, then create this long post on your favorite social media site. Or someone texts you and this conversation turns into 30 text exchanges. Before you know it, you’ve been sitting there on the leg extension machine, on your phone for 10 minutes. Make it a strict practice to wait until after the workout to take pictures, reply to emails or texts, and don’t answer the phone unless it is an emergency.

Taking these baby steps to avoid wasting time will not only optimize your workout, but will also free your schedule up for other fun things!

Marbled Protein Brownies

marble protein brownies

4 scoops Triple Chocolate 1st Step Whey Protein Powder
1 whole egg 
1/3 cup egg whites 
1/2 tsp baking powder 
1/2 cup rice flour
1 banana 
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 scoops French Vanilla 1st Step Whey Protein Powder 
1/4 cup liquid egg whites

Preheat oven to 350. Mix chocolate protein powder, baking powder, and rice flour together. In a blender mix egg, banana, 1/3 cup egg whites, and water. Pour into dry ingredients, mix well, and pour into a greased pan. In a separate bowl mix the vanilla protein powder and 1/4 cup egg whites. Spoon or pour along in horizontal lines and drag a butter knife through the lines vertically to create a swirled appearance. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Note: to make it even better you can add 1/2-2/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips.

Eating Clean on a Budget

I know it sounds impossible, but I can assure you it’s not! I agree that it is unfair that we have to pay more for healthy food than for junk, but that is something that we just have to grit our teeth and bear. Just the other day I found a 10 pack of little bear-shaped cookies for $1 but had to spend about $5 on a bag of little oranges for my kids. This is when we have to decide where our priorities are and how badly we really want to make a change in the way we eat.

My husband and I don’t go out to eat that much; we choose to spend extra money for healthy groceries and therefore sacrifice a weekly dinner out. One meal for two people at a restaurant can easily cost $50. Think of how much that can buy at the store - definitely more than one meal. Even eating fast food can cost more than a homemade meal. We have three children and just to take them to a fast food restaurant is at least $20. For $20 at the store, I can buy five pounds worth of chicken, a marinade, a two liter bottle of sparkling water, a bag of vegetables for steaming, four sweet potatoes, and probably get back some change.

Let’s say you have a $100 budget and need to buy groceries for a week for you and your significant other. Here is a sample meal plan and grocery list that will keep you under budget:

Meal 1- 2 scrambled eggs, ½ cup oatmeal
Meal 2- 1 can tuna, 2 rice cakes, 1 tbsp. natural peanut butter
Meal 3- 4-6 oz. chicken breast, ½ cup cooked brown rice, 1 cup steamed veggies
Meal 4- 1st Step Pro-Wellness shake and 1 banana
Meal 5- 4-6 oz. marinated chicken breast, 1 small sweet potato, 1 cup veggies
Meal 6- 10 almonds, 2 boiled eggs

*7 lb. of chicken (1.99/lb.) = $14 *14 bananas= $2.50
*2 Large bags frozen veggies ($7.50 each )= $15 *2 Bottles Marinade= $5
*Oatmeal = $3 *14 sweet potatoes= $7
*14 cans tuna ($.68 each) = $9.52 *bag of almonds= $8
*2 pkg. rice cakes = $4 *5 dozen eggs = $9
*Peanut butter = $3 *Bag of brown rice = $3
*1st Step Pro Wellness Protein Powder = $17

That makes a grand total of $100.02! Not too shabby.

There is a good rule of thumb when purchasing food: fresh is better than frozen, and frozen is better than canned. Depending on what your budget is, we all understand that you just have to make the best decisions possible. Just remember, eating clean is essential to losing weight, but most importantly, being healthy.

1st Step Protein Brownies

1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 scoops 1st Step Pro-Wellness Nutritional Supplements Triple Chocolate Protein Powder
1 tbsp natural honey
1/3 cup water
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
Dash cinnamon
Walden Farms Chocolate Syrup 

Mix all ingredients except syrup together and pour in a pan that has been sprayed with coconut oil. Bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes and then cool. Drizzle with syrup and enjoy!